A pair of bills vetoed by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero that would help the Office of Public Accountability were brought back to the floor during the first day of the June legislative session on Monday and are now set for an override vote.
The first was Bill 213 by Sen. Telo Taitague which would have established deadlines for agency heads to submit required documents for Office of Public Accountability audits. Agency heads who fail to meet the deadline would personally be assessed a $250 fine for each missed day.
Taitague said she introduced the measure because, “certain government of Guam directors failed to do their jobs. They failed to provide the information necessary for the completion of an annual government-wide audit.”
She said the OPA agreed that the bill would provide an incentive for agency heads to do their jobs.
In her veto message, the governor wrote that the bill “shows a lack of understanding of the audit process.”
A previous override attempt for Taitague’s bill on April 26 failed.
The second bill set for an override vote is Sen. Joanne Brown’s Bill 227, co-sponsored by Taitague, which would “enhance the independent status of the Office of Public Accountability” by continuously appropriating one-quarter of 1% of the annual GovGuam budget to the OPA.
Sen. Frank Blas Jr., in supporting the override, raised the case of a recent special investigative audit by the OPA which brought to light some $42 million in “questionable and non-allowable costs” by Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense.
An independent auditor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency first uncovered the discrepancies in grant funding, which date as far back as 2011, and had recommended to FEMA that the government of Guam be required to return the funding.
Blas said the administration knew of the independent audit findings as far back as March of last year.
“What is the fear in providing the auditor the tools and the autonomy and the funding that he needs?” Blas asked.
In her veto message, the governor said the bill is “inconsistent with sound fiscal policy,” as each year, departments and agencies submit their budgets to the Legislature to justify their estimates of the funds necessary to their operations.
A successful override requires ten votes.
(1) comment
The Public Auditor needs attention and he wants people to fall over themselves for him. I support the work but more so if it wasn't politicized by the OAG who relies on the 37th to lend him credibility in order to justify his 'persecution' of GovGuam agency heads and others. These same Senators were part of corrupt administrations which is why their song and dance is just that.
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